''Meat Is Murder: An Illustrated Guide to Cannibal Culture'' is a book originally published in 1998, which examines

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

in myth, true crime, and film.

Description

The author of ''Meat Is Murder!'',

Mikita Brottman Mikita Brottman, née Mikita Hoy, (born 1966) is a British American non-fiction author, scholar, and psychologist known for her interest in true crime. Her writing blends a number of genres, often incorporating elements of autobiography, psych ...

received her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, taught Comparative Literature at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

as a Visiting Assistant Professor, served as a professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, and is currently on the staff of the

Pacifica Graduate Institute Pacifica Graduate Institute is a private for-profit graduate school with two campuses near Santa Barbara, California. The institute offers masters and doctoral degrees in the fields of clinical psychology, counseling, mythological studies, dep ...

. Brottman's writings on film and film culture have appeared in '' Film Quarterly'', ''Literature Film Quarterly'' and ''

indieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'', where she regularly covers international film festivals. ''Meat is Murder!'' is the eighth volume in Creation Books' series on extreme cinema. The book deals not only with film portrayals of cannibalism, but also with societal and historical aspects of the phenomenon. One of Brottman's points in the study is that recounting stories of the horror of the cannibalism taboo—whether through myth, fairy tale, true crime or film—actually strengthens our communal ties.Brevard Community College. "Meat is Murder! An illustrated guide to Cannibal Culture. (Book Reviews)." ''

The Journal of Popular Culture ''The Journal of Popular Culture'' (''JPC'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes academic essays on all aspects of popular or mass culture. It is published six times a year, printed by Wiley-Blackwell. As of Summer 2022, the edito ...

'' (March 22, 2001) ''Meat is Murder!'' is broken into three sections dealing with different aspects of cannibalism. The first part deals with cultural cannibalism. This aspect of the subject is further broken down into sections dealing with dietary, symbolic, and hunger. Criminal and psychotic cannibalism make up the second part of the book, featuring descriptions of notorious real-life cannibals. Cannibalism as it is portrayed in popular culture finishes this section of the book. The last third of the book discusses the portrayal of cannibalism in film. The first part of this section covers documentaries and art-house films such as Paul Bartel's '' Eating Raoul'' (1982) and Peter Greenaway's '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover'' (1989). The second chapter of this section of the book covers films on individuals who cannibalize, and the third chapter is on cannibal families or societies. Tobe Hooper's ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...

'' (1974) and Ruggero Deodato's ''

Cannibal Holocaust ''Cannibal Holocaust'' is a 1980 Italian found footage cannibal horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici. It stars Robert Kerman as Harold Monroe, an anthropologist from New York University who leads a rescue ...

'' (1980) are among the films given coverage in this chapter. In the section on cannibal cinema,

asserts that the subject is more widespread than is commonly assumed. She shows that cannibalism is a subject which has been portrayed in all time periods through film history, in films such as the 1908 silent comedy ''King of the Cannibal Islands'', through David F. Friedman's exploitation "documentary" ''Cannibal Island'' (1956), through ''

Soylent Green ''Soylent Green'' is a 1973 American Environmental film, ecological dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role. It is loosely based on t ...

'' (1973), '' Alive'' (1993), and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

's ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

'' (2001).

Critical appraisal

''Humanities and Social Sciences Online'' calls the ''Meat is Murder!'' a "gruesome but fascinating tour through the anthropological, criminological, literary, and cinematic history of cannibalism". Reviewer Philip Simpson judges that the book is "compelling" and takes a scholarly approach to its subject matter. The ''Headpress Guide to the Counter Culture'' (2004) points out that Brottman is not condescending to her subject matter, but criticizes the book for its lengthy film synopses. The review also deems the illustrations in the book to be of a poor quality. ''

'' writes that Brottman's theories as to the communal ties created through the horror of the subject of cannibalism are "argued persuasively". Reviews reprinted at the book's publisher's site include ''Total Film'', which calls Brottman's work, "worryingly exhaustive, ndhungrily informed," and '' Terrorizer'' which writes that the book is "an informed study of both cultural and cinematic cannibalism... hichcombines meticulous research with a fascinating insight into the origins of cannibalism, infamous real-life perpetrators and the celluloid treatment of the subject." ''Film Review'' labeled the book, "An excellent study of cannibal culture."

References

External links

Creation Books/Meat Is Murder! (English)Creation Books
Retrieved on 2008-2-29 1998 non-fiction books History of film Popular culture books Non-fiction books about cannibalism

Description

Critical appraisal

References

Further reading

External links